Dir. Chris and Paul Weitz
"In my opinion, all men are islands. And what's more, now's the time to be one. This is an island age."
About a Boy is in all actuality two stories that meet up somewhere in the middle and then rely on each other to resolve themselves. One story is about Will (Hugh Grant) an unlikeable, loner (and one whom likes it that way) who through chance ends up dating a single mother and starts believing them to be dating's single best kept secret. He starts going to SPAT meetings (Single Parents Alone Together) to hook up with single moms. And it's through SPAT (technically) that he meets Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), the focus of the other story. Marcus is a kid growing up in a single parent household, who seems all too eager to put others before himself. He's not popular, and is in fact one of the biggest outcasts in the school, so much so that other unpopular kids won't hang out with him for fear of being harassed. Will and Marcus eventually meet over a SPAT picnic and don't quite hit off. But you, the clever reader already know what is going to happen.
And that is one of my big issues with About a Boy, a film I was so convinced I was going to love before watching it. It's entirely predictable and not really moving, as everything here has been done before, and better. Maybe it's because I'm eight years behind the curve of the film, and it was more fresh in 2002, but watching it today I wasn't surprised, moved, or even really touched by the film in anyway.
Now, that's not to say it's a bad film, by any stretch of the imagination. I would easily recommend this film to someone in the mood for it, but it's not one of my favorites, and it's nowhere near as great as people make it out to be.
The acting is terrific all around. Hugh Grant is likable and charming, but I take issue with this because Will's not supposed to be a likable guy. He's a bastard in every aspect of the word, a misogynistic misanthrope. But with Grant, we never really see that. Even when we get towards the climax and Will and Marcus get into a fight and Will says some pretty unreasonable things to him, still he's pretty likable. This is in no way Hugh Grant's fault as he does give a very layered performance, and is quite good at that. He is simply just miscast here. Nicholas Hoult is incredible as Marcus giving one of those rare child performances that doesn't come off as too cutesy or unbelievable in anyway. The two play off each other quite well and when they're together on screen make for some of the best bits of the film. Toni Collette's here also in fine form (by which I mean acting-wise), and there's an extended cameo with Rachel Weisz who plays the obligatory love interest for Will.
I wish I enjoyed this film more, as I've heard nothing but good, if not great things about it. I think given a more memorable script, soundtrack, or cinematography this one might have aged better, but looking back it will be very hard for this one to stand out in the crowd and differentiate itself in any way. It's an efficient and entertaining film, but in all honesty, there's nothing more to it. Some great performances in an otherwise competent and wholly average film.
3 out of 5
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